Science Experiment 2


Topic:

Memory

The Question:

Are you more likely to remember knowledge for a math test or a spelling test?

The Background Information:

According to the website listed below, In 2008, Burdick School's average WKCE math test scores were 55.00. The total number of kids at Burdick in 2007 were 517 students. Compare this math test score to the kids at Highland Community School. Their school's average WKCE math test score are 100.0 as of 2008.

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/WI/schoolrank.aspx

Younger children at Burdick that range from 6 to 10 years of age take spelling tests. The words they may use can range from computer to
theoretical. I asked my dad what the average test score in spelling for a 5th grader is his class and he told me its about an 88%. Other things that have to deal with spelling are spelling bees. According to the first website listed below, a seventh grade boy spelled another name for catfish that helped him snag first place at the Badger Spelling Bee on March 15 this year. According to the second site listed below, Isabel, an eighth-grader at O'Keeffe Middle School, was propelled through the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. correctly spelling danceable, antioxidant and myrmecologist. Last but not least according to the third website listed below the students at Jack Young Middle School have two levels of their spelling bee. The first level is through the elementary schools for 4th and 5th grades. Students at the elementary level have classroom Spelling Bees to determine the top spellers from each classroom. The classrooms winners move on to a school Bee to determine the top speller for that school. Each elementary school sends their top speller to an invitational Spelling Bee held by the Central Wisconsin Talented and Gifted Coordinators (CWTAG). The three top students are recognized at the CWTAG Invitational Spelling Bee.
The second level of the Spelling Bee is for their middle school students. Each homeroom at the school holds their own Spelling Bee at which students are chosen to represent their class/grade at the Jack Young Middle School Spelling Bee. The six top students from the Jack Young Middle School Spelling Bee go on to compete at the CESA 5 Regional Spelling Bee. From the Regional Spelling Bee, the top student is awarded a trophy and the opportunity to attend the state Spelling Bee. The top speller in the State of Wisconsin then goes on to compete at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.


http://www.wfrv.com/news/local/story/Sheboygan-boy-snags-state-spelling-bee-crown/sPusytJDuEO6sE-K40kGIw.cspx?rss=847
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-164316636.html
http://www.baraboo.k12.wi.us/faculty/gerickson/spellingbee.cfm

According to the website below heres a descriptive classifaction of intelligence quotients (IQ)
IQ
Description
% of Population
130+
Very superior
2.2%
120-129
Superior
6.7%
110-119
High average
16.1%
90-109
Average
50%
80-89
Low average
16.1%
70-79
Borderline
6.7%
Below 70
Extremely low
2.2%
In the book, Know Your Child’s IQ, Glen Wilson and Diana Grylls outline occupations typical of various IQ levels:
140
Top Civil Servants; Professors and Research Scientists.
130
Physicians and Surgeons; Lawyers; Engineers (Civil and Mechanical)
120
School Teachers; Pharmacists; Accountants; Nurses; Stenographers; Managers.
110
Foremen; Clerks; Telephone Operators; Salesmen; Policemen; Electricians.
100+
Machine Operators; Shopkeepers; Butchers; Welders; Sheet Metal Workers.
100-
Warehousemen; Carpenters; Cooks and Bakers; Small Farmers; Truck and Van Drivers.
90
Laborers; Gardeners; Upholsterers; Farmhands; Miners; Factory Packers and Sorters.
http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq04.htm

The Hypothesis:

If I give information on a math and spelling test and give each person in my class 5 minutes to study and 10 minutes to work on each test then more than 75% of the students I gave the test to will do better on the spelling test rather than the math test.

The Procedure:

  1. Gather the materials.
  2. Give study sheet or sheet(s) to person.
  3. Let that person study it for 5 minutes.
  4. Give person math test.
  5. Let that person take the math test for 10 minutes.
  6. Once the ten minutes are up, grade the test with your answer sheet.
  7. After that person is done with the math test, give them the spelling study sheet or sheet(s).
  8. Give that person 5 minutes to study it.
  9. Then give that person the spelling test.
  10. Let that person take the spelling test for ten minutes.
  11. Once the ten minutes are up, grade the test with your answer sheet.
  12. Record data for that person.
  13. Repeat steps 2-12 for next person.


The Materials:

  • worksheets
  • study sheets
  • Record sheet
  • answer sheet
  • pen or pencil

The Experiment:

Do the Experiment.

The Data/Results:


Test scores for each Person

Person
Math Score
Spelling Score
person 1
90%
90%
person 2
80%
90%
person 3
100%
95%
person 4
90%
100%
person 5
100%
100%
person 6
90%
90%
person 7
80%
80%
person 8
100%
80%
person 9
80%
100%
person 10
90%
90%
The math average for the ten people is 90%
The spelling average for the ten people is 91.5%

The Conclusion:

In my hypothesis, I said, "if I give information on a math and spelling test and give each person in my class 5 minutes to study and 10 minutes to work on each test then more than 75% of the students I gave the test to will do better on the spelling test rather than the math test. I was right and wrong. Yes the students I gave the test to did better on the spelling test rather than the math test but they only did better by 1.5%. What I would probably keep the same would be probably the way I made the tests. What I would change though would be instead of having study sheets to study from, I would have given them one of our math books and told them to study from particular sections in the book. I would also change the amount of people I gave to test to. So overall, I think my experiment was a success in the end but I think I would've changed a few parts in the experiment.